Whitsunday Property Market Report 2nd half 2019

In Q2 2019, Whitsundays recorded a median house price of $475,000 (32 sales), and a median unit price of $232,000 (27 sales). This represents annual (Q2 2018 – Q2 2019) median price growth of 15.2% for houses and 0.6% for units. During this time house sales increased by 6.7%, and unit sales declined by -38.6%. Despite a slower start to 2019 the Whitsundays’ is moving towards a more resilient market, particularly for houses. Positive capital growth over the past 12 months should build investor confidence for the rest of 2019.

Average vendor discounts between Q2 2018 and Q2 2019 has widened for both houses and units, to -6.0% and -8.4% respectively. The housing market conditions in Whitsundays continue to further favour buyers. First home buyers, particularly those seeking units, are encouraged to enter the market and benefit from the discount offered.

In the 12 months to Q2 2019 rental demand increased by 18.8% for houses and slightly softened by -2.3% for units. The median house rental price softened by -4.2% to $460 per week, median unit rental price grew by 1.6% to $325 per week. There is a high demand for house rentals, with indicators in the unit rental market suggesting a potential undersupply.

2 bedrooms houses provided investors with the highest rental growth annually. As of June 2019, Whitsunday’s rental yields were recorded at 5.5% (houses) and 6.2% (units). This outperforms both Whitsundays Shire Local Government Area (LGA) and North Coast QLD.

Whitsundays recorded a stable vacancy rate of 3.6% in June 2019. Vacancy rates in Whitsundays have declined significantly in the last 24 months, indicating a healthier rental demand, which is good news for investors.